Survival of the fittest
by Nybble
Summary: Heroes. Villains. World ending threats. Root and Shaw and Team Machine in the Wormverse. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Author note**

This is a crossover with Worm by Wildbow. The Worm universe is based on the premise that there are entities that are using human beings to test drive powers for them. 'Parahumans' or 'capes', receive their powers only after being subjected to severe stress and trauma, so are usually not in the best headspace afterwards. 'Villains' outnumber 'Heroes' by a significant amount, and then there are the Endbringers...

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><p><strong>Part 1<strong>

Shaw watched through the scope of her rifle as Hideki Kumura, head of one of Tokyo's prominent crime families, lowered himself slowly to his knees. He waved off assistance from his sons, and both of them hovered helplessly on either side of old man. The rest of his family including his wife, daughter in laws and grandchildren were arrayed behind him in the courtyard of their family home. Every single eye was fixed on the lone man in the elaborate metal mask, standing in front of the Kumura patriarch. There was a katana resting casually on his shoulder, the blade wreathed in flame.

The parahuman known as Lung, was shirtless despite the winter chill and dressed in a pair of worn blue jeans. It was a stark contrast to the expensive suits the Kumura's were wearing. Over the past two months he had systematically worked his way through Tokyo's underworld, seizing control of several gangs by executing the leaders and claiming their position for himself. Lung was bringing the criminal underbelly to its literal knees, with a ruthless effectiveness that had caught the Machine's attention and flagged him as a number.

Shaw's finger moved ever so slightly on the trigger. She could end this now, and remove the threat that Lung posed. He was a pyrokinetic, with adaptive regeneration and no known upper limit. You hit him, he got stronger, faster and bigger in response. His nails and skin hardened, eventually turning into bladed claws and armour plating. The longer a fight dragged on, the more powerful Lung would get, and with no upper limit there was no telling exactly how destructive his transformation could become. He only started returning to normal if there was nobody left to fight, so the best way to take him down was to do it at the start and preferably from range. Unfortunately the Machine believed that he was a potential asset and Finch had agreed, so Lung was off limits for the moment.

Her earpiece chirped and Shaw shifted, moving deeper into the shadow of the window she was setup at. "Now's not a good time, Root".

"Shaw, you have 30 minutes to get to Haneda airport. Your flight leaves in an hour". Root's voice carried none of her usual flirtatious tones and Shaw's forehead creased into a frown.

"I'm not done with the mission. Lung is going to be a serious problem if we let him continue".

"Not up for debate, Sameen. Tokyo is the next Endbringer target".

Shaw's heartrate accelerated and she immediately headed for the door. She expertly dissembled her rifle as she moved, slipping the pieces into the specially designed pocket of her peacoat. "How long?"

"**She** says, six hours, maybe less".

Shaw's jaw set as she took the stairs two at a time. That was not a lot of time to evacuate a city the size of Tokyo, even if they could get the authorities to believe them. "Does she know which one?"

"Leviathan".

That meant that Tokyo was a soft target. The Endbringer would try and inflict as much damage as possible to the city itself. Her eyes fluttered shut briefly, before she pushed open the stairwell door and stepped into the early morning sunlight. The street was chaotic, beeping horns and scurrying office workers marking the tail end of rush hour. Shaw shoved her hands into her coat pockets and kept her head down as she slipped into the stream of people on the sidewalk. "Are we going to try and warn them?"

"No." Root's voice was unwavering. **"She** say's there's only a 5.6% chance that the authorities would act on it. It's not worth the risk of the Simurgh detecting the warning and tracing it back to us.

Not good odds, but this was a city of 13 million people. Shaw cut off the thought before it could go any further. Their mission was to counter the Simurgh's influence, and they couldn't do that if they were compromised. "Ok", she responded.

"Shaw, hurry." Root ended the call.

Shaw increased her speed to a brisk walk, smoothly navigating around people on the crowded sidewalk. The Simurgh was likely already focused on Tokyo. She needed to get out as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, without drawing any attention to herself. She turned into the side street where she had left her rented motorbike. The Tokyo traffic was going to make it a challenge to get to the airport in time. She pulled on the helmet and revved the engine, before accelerating off, intent on making her flight.

The roar of the bike successfully hid the crack of the crossbow bolt accelerated at supersonic speeds from the rooftop above her. The impact of the bolt lifted Shaw clean off the bike, and the neurotoxin it was covered in ensured she was unconscious before her body hit the ground.

The attacker, a man in a black body suit with an ornate demon mask obscuring his features, dissolved into a cloud of white ash, which drifted away in the breeze. The arrow protruding from Shaw's side also poofed into ash, removing all evidence of the hit.

* * *

><p><em>'Asset compromised'.<em>

In a hotel suite in Hong Kong, Root's hands froze in position on her laptop keyboard.

Security camera footage played on her screen of Shaw's body jerking from the impact of a crossbow bolt, before she went flying off her bike and into the side of a parked car with a sickening crunch. She ended up in a crumpled heap on the road, bits of shattered glass from the car window raining down on her.

_'Switching to live camera feed'_

Shaw lay very still on the ground, and a shirtless man in a metal mask was now in frame. People were fleeing the area, the side street rapidly emptying of any witnesses.

Tiny little bolts of electricity sparked between Root's hands and the keyboard, and the smell of burning plastic filled the room as the keys started to melt. The screen froze and blanked and Root glanced down in surprise. The tiny bolts of electricity surrounding her hands immediately dissipated.

"Well, it looks like our timetable just got accelerated."

_'41.2% chance of successful extraction of asset. 83.8% chance of Simurgh detection.'_

"We were always planning on testing Lung's viability as an asset." Root answered the Machine as she lifted her hands off the melted slag that was once a laptop. "Now we get to do that whilst potentially helping a city of 13 million people. Sounds win win to me."

She stood and started gathering her things.

"Not to mention we also get to test how effective our cover identities are against the Simurgh's direct attention. It's risky, but the payoff will be worth it. Make sure Harold receives that last data dump and then destroy all traces of it once he's seen it. I've got this end covered."

The lights flickered wildly as an electromagnetic pulse passed through the room, effectively destroying all the electronic devices in the vicinity, bar the burner phone Root had in her hand. She took a deep breath, her fingers unconsciously drifting to her right ear. "Once I make this call, Simurgh isolation protocols will be in effect for both me and Shaw".

There was a millisecond pause and then the Machine acquiesced.

* * *

><p>TBC<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Shaw's eyes flickered open, her ability letting her know exactly where and when she was. Well as much information as latitude, longitude, elevation and local sidereal time gives you anyway. She'd have to find out the actual details the old fashioned way.

She glanced around the room, noting the state of the art medical equipment surrounding her. Clearly a private health care facility, given the size of the room and her lone occupancy. The glowing green liquid flowing into the IV line attached to her right arm was an unpleasant surprise though. Bone regrowth serum, a healing accelerator. Whatever had caused her to crash her bike, had injured her badly enough to break bones. Shaw lifted the sheet covering her and took stock of her body, noting the heavy bruising on her left arm and leg. The serum may have healed the bones but it didn't do much for soft tissue damage. She flexed her arm and leg, ignoring the sharp spikes of pain through the abused muscles.

Shaw forced herself to sit up, aware of the clock ticking on her exit window. Her vision swam and her limbs felt heavy and weak, like she was carrying a hundred pound weight in high humidity. All likely side effects due to accelerated healing. She would need to watch her calorie intake over the next few days to ensure that she replaced all the reserves her body would have burnt off healing her bones.

The bruising extended across her torso, so she'd likely cracked a few ribs as well. She inhaled deeply, clenching her jaw as her ribs protested, but was relieved to note no major impairment to her breathing. A little stiffness and pain she could work with, but a punctured lung would have been slightly more problematic.

She ignored the dizziness and determinedly yanked at the IV attached to her arm, before moving on to the other leads connected to her. The whine of an alarm from one of the machines she'd disconnected, made her grimace. Although she was pretty certain she wasn't in a hostile facility given the lack of restraints and armed guards, there might still be some resistance to her just up and leaving.

The door opened and a doctor entered, pausing in surprise as he took in the scene in front of him. "Ah Ms. Gray, I see that you're awake." He was a middle aged Japanese man, who spoke clear but accented English. "Your wife was right about your resistance to sedatives".

Shaw dismissed him as a threat, her attention entirely focused on the woman who had followed him into the room.

"Sameen, sweetie I'm so glad you're ok", Root rushed to her side and grabbed her hand.

Shaw was impressed at the actual tears that formed in her eyes as Root played the concerned spouse. She was dressed in designer clothes that screamed money and privilege. The leather coat alone was probably worth over two grand, not to mention the Manolo Blahnik boots. Well that explained the private medical facility _and_ the bone regrowth serum. The serum especially, was not exactly a dime a dozen.

Shaw gritted her teeth and forced her lips to twist into a smile. "I'm okay, _honey_. There was no need for you to come all the way out here". She tightened her grip on Root's hand, but was frustrated when she couldn't get anywhere near the crushing pressure she wanted.

"I was worried about you, Sameen. Of course I had to come". Root's gaze flickered down to their joined hands and her eyebrows drew together in genuine worry. "Dr. Hashimoto, have you not started caloric replacement yet?"

"That's one of the reasons why I have advised we not move your wife yet, Ms. Gray." The doctor silenced the beeping machine alarm. "We haven't had the time to do any caloric replacement, bar the bare minimum accompanying the serum administration."

"I'll be fine", Shaw interjected before he could continue. "I'll grab something to eat on the way out".

"It's not going to be that easy to fix, Ms. Gray." The doctor gave her a disapproving look. "Your glucose stores are dangerously low."

"Don't worry, Doctor." Root smiled disarmingly. "Sameen is a paramedic, so she does understand the seriousness of her condition. She's just fulfilling the stereotype of being the worst possible patient."

Root started dragging the expensive looking carryon that had been propped up beside the window, closer to the bed. "We are also taking a private jet back that is fully capable of meeting her medical requirements. She'll be hooked up to an IV as soon as we get on board." She paused and tilted her head, fixing the doctor with a wide eyed stare. "Now as I've mentioned, we are on a bit of a timetable and really need to be on our way as soon as possible."

"Right of course. I will be back shortly with the discharge papers." The doctor flustered under the look and left the room hurriedly.

Root wasted no time in placing a scrambler on the wall beside the bed. A blue dome crackled over the room, ensuring that nothing could see or overhear them. "We've got three minutes". She reached into the bag and took out a set of clothes for Shaw.

"So what's the plan?" Shaw carefully swung her legs off the bed, her jaw clenching as even that small effort left her breathing faster than she would have liked. She reached up to undo the hospital gown, but gentle hands batted hers out of the way, as Root took over and removed it for her.

Root inhaled sharply as she took in Shaw's exposed torso. Shaw's entire left side was one solid mass of blue bruising. There didn't appear to be one unblemished patch of skin. "Oni Lee really did a number on you". Root's hands tightened briefly on the black pants she was holding, before she knelt and started helping Shaw into them.

So that's who was responsible for Shaw's current condition. Lung's right hand man was a teleporter, which made him hard to track. That was no excuse though. Shaw should have been more vigilant, instead of getting taken out like a raw recruit.

"And the reason I'm not currently enjoying Lung's hospitality is?" Shaw gingerly shimmied her hips and took over from Root, pulling up the pants the rest of the way.

"Let's just say he had better things to do, and move on to more interesting things like our new cover identities". Root's lips curled into one of her wide terrifying smiles as she held up two passports. She tossed them onto the bed beside Shaw.

"You're a paramedic. I'm a computer programmer. We met three years ago, got married six months later, and we live in Hawaii now". Root picked up a black shirt and it held it open for Shaw to slip into.

Shaw raised an eyebrow as she eyed the passports. "Ruth Gray. Sameen Gray. Cute. Who took who's name"?

Root paused in the process of buttoning up Shaw's shirt and gave her a look. "That's the part you have questions about?"

"What?" Shaw grumpily pushed away Root's hands and completed buttoning the shirt herself. "It's an important thing to know".

"Shaw, we're going to be spending at least the next six months with these identities, so please take this seriously". Root tossed a small item at Shaw who reflexively caught it, ignoring the pain that flared through her side at the action.

"What do you mean six months?" Shaw slid the ring she'd caught onto her left hand.

"Simurgh isolation protocols. This gives us a perfect opportunity to test how well our cover identities hold up".

Shaw's jaw clenched at the reminder of the magnitude of her screw up. She'd been compromised in a city about to be attacked by an Endbringer. Not only was Root now exposed to the same danger as her, but they were both going to be out of action for the next six months. That meant that Finch and Reese would be left to handle numbers without the two of them.

Root held out a dark gray coat, the light glinting off the diamond on her ring. "Please try to be more careful with this one. We're not going to have access to Harold's workshop to get a replacement anytime soon".

Shaw rolled her eyes and carefully got to her feet, with Root hovering annoyingly close. Black spots briefly flecked her vision as she slipped gingerly into the coat, and she could feel Root's hand settle against her hip, steadying her. She checked the special inner pocket and smiled as her fingers brushed against the familiar shape of a pistol. "A Nano, nice".

"I have a car waiting outside. It will take us directly to the airport, where our plane is prepped and ready for takeoff." Root handed over a hair tie and Shaw pulled her hair back in a ponytail, relieved to get it off her face. A couple of loose strands flopped over her eyes, but Shaw ignored them.

"Ten seconds", she said tersely, her ability keeping track of the time that had passed since Root had activated the scrambler.

Root nodded and reached out to adjust the collar of Shaw's coat. With a soft exhalation of breath, she slid her hands down the lapels and leaned her forehead against Shaw's. "I'm glad you're ok, Sameen".

Shaw allowed her own eyes to flutter shut, the familiar scent of leather, shampoo and something essentially Root, overwhelming her senses.

"And for the record, " Root's voice dropped a register into the sultry range. "You took my name".

Shaw reared back, only to get an eyeful of the gigantic smirk on Root's face. She opened her mouth to respond when there was a brief flare of light and the blue dome around the room collapsed. She jerked away, breaking Root's hold on her.

Root kept smiling that blood pressure increasing smile, and sauntered over to the bag, where she pulled out a pair of Ugg boots. "Need help putting these on, sweetie?" She motioned towards Shaw's bare feet, her expression set in a perfect simulacrum of helpful concern.

Shaw could only let out a frustrated growl as she snatched the boots from Root's unresisting hands. It was going to be a long six months.

* * *

><p>TBC<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Shaw narrowed her eyes at Root over the rim of the plastic cup she was drinking from. They had the entire backseat of the luxury sedan available to them, but Root had chosen to sit in the middle, practically in Shaw's lap. Root stared back unabashedly as Shaw released the straw from between her teeth.

Still holding Root's gaze, Shaw raised the half eaten burger in her other hand, and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth, making sure to chew as noisily and messily as possible. The wrapper successfully caught anything that spilled due to her energetic chewing, sparing the expensive leather upholstery of the car. Root continued to stare at Shaw like she was watching puppies frolicking in the sunshine, even going so far as to lean her head against her hand. The laptop in front of her lay open but forgotten, lines of code scrolling across the screen.

The car slowed down, before coming to an abrupt halt and Root frowned, breaking her staring contest with Shaw to glance out the window. Shaw did the same, noting the line of stationery cars in front of them.

The sound of rapid typing signalled Root was back on her laptop, and what looked like a traffic cam popped up on the screen. From the tense set of the other woman's shoulders, it was clearly not good news. Root hit the intercom connecting them to the driver. The privacy screen was up, and had been since they'd entered the car. Root spoke rapid Japanese, and whatever the driver answered didn't improve her expression.

"Everything ok?" Shaw swallowed the last of the burger, acutely aware of the time ticking away. She resisted the urge to rub at her eyes, as she stifled a yawn.

"Just a minor traffic hold up." Root reached over and took the cup out of Shaw's hand, replacing it with a napkin. "It seems we're going to be a little longer than anticipated getting to the airport. Don't worry, it's only an extra twenty minutes or so." She finished off the last bit of Shaw's drink and disposed of the cup. "Just perfect for you to have a quick nap, sweetie".

Shaw absently swiped at her face with the napkin. An extra twenty minutes wasn't too bad. That still left them with a 2 hour window to get out of the city. She didn't like the reminder of her current state though. The caloric deficit from the accelerated healing was proving to be particularly frustrating for Shaw. Her body was betraying her with its insistent demand for rest. In fact, before Root had started their impromptu staring competition, she'd been struggling to get through the meal without falling asleep. The food had only made the problem worse. Shaw could feel her eyelids start to droop and deliberately took a deep breath, using the pain that spiked through her ribs to force herself to stay awake.

"Sameen, you really should rest", Root's brows drew together in concern. "Forcing yourself to stay awake, is only going to slow your recovery process. And you know I hate seeing you in unnecessary pain." There was a seriousness in Root's eyes that had nothing to do with the fake persona she was playing. Shaw looked away, focusing on a spot just over Root's shoulder.

"I promise I'll wake you up if anything exciting happens".

"Fine". Shaw found herself unable to summon the necessary energy to fight Root's assessment. She went to fold her arms, then thought better of it when her left wrist protested. She simply leaned her head back against the seat instead and shut her eyes. It didn't take long for her breathing to even out.

The next time the car navigated a bend, Shaw's body slid over, leaving her slumped against Root. Root lifted her arm and adjusted their positions so that Shaw was resting more comfortably against her. Her lips curved into a soft smile as Shaw's nose twitched, irritated by the messy strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Root gently tucked them behind Shaw's ear, before she resumed typing with just her right hand. The left stayed draped over Shaw, keeping from being jolted about with the movement of the car.

* * *

><p>The distinctive shriek of the Endbringer siren had Shaw jerking awake abruptly. She clutched at her ribs as pain flared through her side, and a hand pressed down on her hip, encouraging her to keep still. Shaw's gaze locked with Root's only inches away from her. There was barely hidden panic in Root's wide open eyes.<p>

Shaw's ability told her she had only been sleeping for twelve minutes and it was _never_ wrong. "Root"?

Root swallowed and glanced down at her laptop like it would give her answers. "I...It's too soon."

There was a lost look on her face that Shaw had only seen a couple of times before. It made her own jaw tense and the familiar burn of anger in her chest sputtered, as it was replaced by something else.

_Concern._

The car started to veer towards the nearest exit ramp and Root's head snapped up. She lifted the hand that had been on Shaw's hip and shifted forward to thumb the intercom, snapping something in Japanese.

Shaw sat up straighter, no longer corralled by Root's arm and gingerly leaned back against the seat.

"I'm sorry, but the Endbringer siren means that we must clear the streets and go to the nearest shelter. We cannot continue to the airport". The driver chose to respond in English.

Root lowered the privacy screen and spoke directly to the driver. "I will pay you ten times the usual fee in cash if you get us to the airport. Plus a bonus 500,000 yen when we arrive there"

"Money will mean nothing if I am not alive to spend it." The driver met Root's eyes in the rear vision mirror. He was a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties, and the prominently displayed driver license identified him as Genzo Sato. "This is an Endbringer attack." He nodded towards a picture of a woman and a little girl on his dash. "I have a family."

There was clearly no negotiating with Sato and if he wanted to play it that way, then fine. Shaw made to reach into her coat pocket for her gun, only to have Root's hand land on her thigh, her nails digging into her skin in warning.

"Even if I did want to risk it and take you to the airport, it would be impossible." Sato continued speaking, blissfully unaware of the threat in the backseat. He gestured out the windshield. Solid metal barriers were extending horizontally over the expressway about a mile in front of them, closing the lanes and forcing traffic to exit.

"I will try to get us as close as possible to the shelter, but it will be dependent on road access." Sato's eyes briefly flicked to Shaw in the mirror, and her hand curled into a fist at the pity in his look. He'd clearly noticed her impaired physical condition.

"Thank you". Root smiled one of her fake all teeth smiles, her fingers lifting from Shaw's thigh to brush across the knuckles of her clenched fist instead. Shaw's hand slowly relaxed under her touch.

Root put the privacy screen back up and immediately turned her attention to her laptop. She pulled up a schematic of the expressway they were on. At regular 5 mile intervals, red lines were showing, denoting the position of barriers.

"Well they certainly don't want people moving around", Shaw was almost impressed at the measures Tokyo had in place. It made sense to funnel people into the closest shelters as opposed to letting them go wherever they pleased.

"No they most certainly don't. It's going to make getting out a little harder for us." Root kept typing and multiple windows started popping up all over the screen. "Nothing we can't get around though".

Shaw stayed silent, knowing that Root was in full on nerd mode. Her shoulders relaxed slightly. Root had clearly got her mojo back. She scanned the ocean running parallel to the expressway. It was flat and calm, picture perfect conditions for a winter afternoon, with absolutely nothing to indicate that anything was wrong. She glanced out the back window, eyes narrowing at the tiny figures floating above the city skyline. The capes were starting to arrive to defend Tokyo.

"Root".

"I know." Root never took her eyes of her screen. She just continued typing, with the constant wail of the Endbringer siren in the background.

The car's progress slowed to a crawl once they exited the expressway. The sidewalks were packed with people rushing towards the closest shelter, but there was surprisingly very little panic. Tokyo was a city that was used to natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis, and the people reacted accordingly.

"Ok, I think I have something". Root finally raised her head exactly three minutes and twenty six seconds later. She reached over and pushed the intercom button. "Pull over after the next intersection."

"Pardon?" Sato's voice was confused. "The nearest shelter is not for another kilometer at least."

Shaw had had enough. The Endbringer siren meant that their original plan to get out of Tokyo quietly was blown to hell. Survival was now their main priority. She lowered the privacy screen and leveled her gun at the driver's head. "She said, pull over after the next intersection".

"I'd hurry if I were you", Root slipped her laptop into a shoulder bag. "She's a bit cranky at the moment, and trust me, you really don't want to be getting on her bad side". Their passports and several other items joined the laptop.

"Of course". Sato's hands were visibly shaking, but he pulled over as instructed. Shaw kept her gun trained on him as Root exited the vehicle, slinging the bag over her shoulder. She followed suit, slipping the pistol back into her coat pocket as she joined Root on the sidewalk. Sato drove off, tires squealing as soon as she shut the door.

Shaw gritted her teeth at the black spots that dotted her vision. Just the simple act of getting out of a damn car, left her feeling like she'd been sucker punched. Root placed a hand on Shaw's back, steadying her. They started moving through the throng of people, directly towards what looked like an apartment building.

"It's eighteen steps and we're there", Root said softly. She was walking slightly behind Shaw, keeping her braced against the press of bodies around them, one hand on Shaw's back and the other gripping her arm .

Shaw didn't say anything, not wanting to give away just how much effort it was costing her to simply put one foot in front of the other. They arrived at the large glass doors and Root placed her hand on the security scanner. There was a zapping noise and the smell of ozone made Shaw wrinkle her nose, as the doors slid open.

The place was empty, and Shaw assumed that it been evacuated. It was clearly a high end apartment building, given the quality of the lobby. In fact, everything looked brand new.

"It's due to open in three days". Root confirmed her observation, guiding Shaw towards the elevators. "There was nobody here but a lone security guard, and he's long gone."

Shaw eyed the security camera pointing at them as they entered the elevator.

"The cameras haven't been activated yet".

"Lucky us". Shaw leaned against the elevator wall and tried to keep the breathlessness out of her voice.

Root remained plastered to her side as she hit the button for the penthouse. "This building has one of the highest safety ratings for earthquakes and tsunamis in Tokyo."

Shaw raised an eyebrow. "The fact that your plan involves a tsunami, and or earthquake, does not inspire confidence."

Root smiled and tilted her head. "Trust me".

Shaw rolled her eyes, but there was no hesitation in her step when they exited the elevator together.

The penthouse was a large open plan apartment, with floor to ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of Tokyo. Shaw was not the least bit interested in the view and made a beeline for the black leather couch. She slouched back into the cushions, annoyed at the continuing weakness in her body. The muscles in her left leg twinged and she hurriedly stretched it out, trying to prevent cramp from setting in.

Root settled next to her and pulled the laptop from the bag, placing it on the table in front of the couch. She also pulled out a bottle of water and wordlessly handed it to Shaw.

One of the open windows flickered red on the laptop and Root's eyes narrowed. "Seems like our pilot is getting cold feet."

She dialed a number on her cell phone, and the screen changed to a view of a balding man in the cockpit of a plane. He glared balefully at his phone before putting it to his ear.

"You wouldn't be thinking of leaving without us now, would you Jerry?" Root said in a deceptively pleasant tone. She put her phone on speaker and set it on the table.

_"Look lady, in case you haven't noticed it's an Endbringer attack. I ain't sticking around. As soon as the tower gives me clearance, I'm outta here."_

"I don't suppose offering you more money would change your mind?"

The answer was a derisive snort. _"I don't care if you offered me a million dollars. Nothing's worth facing an Endbringer."_ He hung up without another word.

"Charming". Shaw put the bottle of water down and reached into her coat pocket for her gun.

Root smiled. "Latitude 35.5533° North. Longitude 139.7811° East." She squinted at the laptop, shutting one eye. "Elevation hmmm, I'd say 10.2 feet".

Shaw glanced at the screen where the pilot was going through some kind of pre flight check.

"10.6 feet actually."

"I love it when you play nerd". Root lowered her voice and fluttered her eyelashes suggestively.

Shaw rolled her eyes at Root's shameless flirting. She extended her arm and aimed back over her shoulder, without bothering to turn her head.

Shaw knew exactly where she was, and exactly where the bullet needed to be. She pulled the trigger.

The bullet _phased_ as it left the muzzle of the gun, and the only law of physics that still applied to it was velocity. Concepts like friction, mass and gravity became utterly meaningless. It passed through the window, leaving the glass intact, and continued on through the steel facade of the next building, on an inexorable path to its target.

"I love it when you play superspy, even more," Root heaved an exaggerated sigh, before her expression abruptly shifted back to serious. "You need to eat again. I expected us to be on the plane by now, so unfortunately our options are a little limited." She pulled out an orange from her bag and held it out to Shaw. "There might be some food here, but it's going to be out of a can, and you hate canned food." There was a fretful look on her face as she glanced in the direction of the kitchen.

"This is fine". Shaw took the orange from her and made short work of peeling it. She popped a slice into her mouth and controlled the urge to grimace at the taste. It was just her luck to get a sour one. Shaw really didn't do sour. She kept chewing though, well aware that Root was still watching her. Root needed to be focused on one thing only, and that was getting them out of here. Having her worrying about Shaw, was an unnecessary distraction.

Shaw was psyching herself up for the next piece of sour orange, when the timer in her head reached zero. She released her connection to the bullet, the familiar buzz of her power deactivating tingling through her senses.

"I think your pilot's about to have a change of heart". Shaw smirked at the laptop screen, where the pilot was bending to pick up a small object of the floor. He held it up to the light, his hand visibly shaking as it revealed a 9mm bullet. Behind him, there was a fist sized hole in the headrest of the co-pilot's seat.

Root smirked back at Shaw and put her phone to her ear.

"Hello Jerry, I trust that you will be waiting for us after all", Root's voice was light and cheerful. She pointed at the orange, and made an eating motion at Shaw.

Shaw slumped back into the couch and ate another slice, her left eye twitching slightly at the sourness. The things she did for the mission.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Next chapter, Endbringer time.

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